After the Trees: Living on the Transamazon Highway

Brazil intended the Transamazon Highway to be a paved road to riches, but as recently as 1989 the 1,000-kilometer trip from Belém to Altamira required "three days, six buses, three boats, and a ten-hour hitch with a truck driver named Eduardo" to travel. This lively, readable study explores why colonization of the Amazon fell short of the planners' vision. Delving into issues of land distribution, soil ecology, and the colonists' adaptation to local ecosystems, Douglas Stewart uncovers the forces that drive deforestation. Recounting fascinating stories of the colonists he met, Stewart also describes how small farmers have banded together during the past decade to overcome the challenges of the frontier. Their collective action, he asserts, if backed by government policy, could lead to progressive land redistribution and wiser use. This broad-ranging look at why deforestation has occurred in the Amazon, what its consequences are, and what can be done to halt and remedy the process should be read by everyone concerned with preserving the Latin American environment.